Dragging It Out
by The-Girl-With-The-Arrows
Summary: This is a One-Shot for Cato and Clove before the games started, just something about a regular day in District 2. Crappy Summary, just read


Clove exited the training center, slamming the door behind her. With a huff she crossed her arms and angrily stomped down the road, her mind roaring with hatred thoughts. _How dare he! _He screamed in her mind as she allowed her legs to carry her and her mind race, calling Cato all the bad names she knew. She could beat him in knives, and had in many cases has. His cocky level was higher than normal and Clove doubted she could handle much more of it.

Cato had always been the one she could trust, always the one who she felt like she could be the real her. The nerve he had at calling her out of her knife throwing. Degrading her in front of everyone, claiming she somehow cheated. If it wasn't murder, she would and nailed a knife right into Cato's face.

Clove kicked the pebble in front of her several times before it flew to the side out of her foot range. Her rage seemed to increase with this. Knife throwing was the only thing that kept her breath; it was the only thing she knew she was good at. She hated her home and what happened there. Every night she loathed the moment her father walked through that door. Sober or not, he was never in a good mood.

Clove's fingers moved to the large bruise that had appeared on her side; a reward for jumping in front of her little brother from a strike to the head. He could beat up on Clove all he wanted, but not on her brother, he was still young and has not yet been poisoned by her father's fist and mothers neglect. How could a woman stand by and watch as the man she said she loved kicked and punched the very children she gave birth to? It amazed Clove how weak her mother.

Clove had made up her mind a long time ago; she was never having children – not if she would end up like her mother.

The path she was following trailed off into a meadow, the only one in the District; this signaled the edge of the District. Clove had only been there once before. It was when her family felt like a family, Clove's brother had not yet been born but was growing inside her mother's stomach. Clove had run ahead of her parents as they took a walk, she never liked their slow pace so she ran ahead, giggling and yelling for them to move faster. Finding the meadow was an accident but it is Clove's favorite family memory.

Her father never said a single negative comment the whole time they sat under the sun, they laughed, joked and enjoyed each other's presence. Clove remembered this was when they had chosen a name for the baby as well. Her parent had been balancing between two names but Clove was the one that named off an even better one. "I like Isaac." The moment she finished talking her parent looked at each other. No words were exchanged but everyone knew, little Isaac was soon to be a part of the family.

The memory stung more than the bruise did, how thing had change so much, it was hard to belief this was all in the same life.

The grass the soft beneath her finger tips as Clove ran her hand across it taking in the fresh smell that never lingered to the town. She closed her eyes and fell back allowing the grass to embrace her. Then, for a blissful moment, her anger flew away along with the pain. There was nothing left but her and meadow. The soft whisper of the wind that chilled her bones; for once in her life, Clove felt free.

Free of abuse and neglect. Free of having to be the perfect fighter and daughter.

"Clove?" the voice ruined everything and the anger and pain came rushing back twice as strong. She slowly sat up and met the eyes of Cato.

"What do you want?" She snapped her voice cold and unwelcoming. There was a flash of shock on Cato's face, but he quickly hid it. What was he shocked about? Did he expect her to be nice to her after what he did?

"I wanted to make sure you didn't do something stupid."

Clove hardened her glare before turning her back to him and staring out into the free land. Hard steps walked up behind her, not caring about the grass that meant too much to her. He stopped just far enough for Clove to feel the heat radiating off of him. "Look at me," He voice was loud and demanding but the grip he had on her arm was cautious.

Nevertheless, at the touch, Clove winced in pain. Another bruise, this was one from the same motion but with a stronger, more painful grip. Clove did miss the confusion of Cato's face as she pulled her arm away and took a few steps forward, turning her back to him again.

"Did he do it again?"

"I never should have told you!" Things seemed to be worse since she did. As though her father found out she had spilled their secret and now wanted to tell her violently, that they had no secrets. Their family was perfect – just like everyone believed.

"No, you should have told me sooner!" Cato now circled around her and stood in front of her. Clove could not meet his eyes.

"Don't give me that shit; ten minutes ago you were calling me a fake. I told you out of trust, and you just bully me like everyone else. I repeat – I never should have told you. Just stay out of it Cato, don't act like you care about me."

The silence he offered back told Clove she had won. Cato knew her deepest secret and he treated that like nothing. He had no idea what it was like to feel like you could trust no one. Clove had finally found that one person that seemed to understand her, that one person she thought she could trust. What does he do – he tries to hide their friend ship and mockers her abilities.

That's not a friend, that's an ass.

"That was stupid – I'm sorry" Clove looked up now; it was rare to hear those words come out of his mouth. She still did not by it, Cato was known for getting his way, if not with his looks with his words.

"Why'd you do it?"

"I thought I was being funny?" He shrugged.

"You thought you were being funny? You are _that_ much of an ass? Jesus, what the hell happened to you? I don't see you for a weekend and you retune to me totally different"

Once again Cato returned with silence.

"I don't understand you" She muttered. Clove kept walking, out of the meadow and to her home. It was silence, no one was home. She went to her room, wanting anything to distraction her from the events that had happened. In the end she ended up sleeping, something that helped her escape the real world, if only for a few hours.

"CLOVE!" The voice nearly shook the house. It pulled Clove out of the dream with a POP that came from inside her mind. The voice hollered again and Clove's heart kicked up a beat. She took a relaxing breath before slowly climbing off the bed and opening the wooden door. She poked her hand out and saw her father standing in the kitchen. His face was bright red and the beer in his hand indicated he was far from sober.

"Yes sir?" The words felt lie acid in her mouth. The ridiculous rule where everyone had to call him _sir_ as though he was someone of importance.

"You come when I call you understand?" He stepped forward; waddling like a penguin was he did "Where is your mother?"

"How I am supposed to know?" Oops. There goes her mouth again. She seemed to always lose control of it when she was with her father, the worst possible time. He took another step forward, clutching the chair to his right when he nearly fell over. With the beer bottle hand he pointed to her.

"You're a little shit," His words no longer stung. She was numb to any verbal abuse. She just stood in her door way, watching him in his drunken state waiting for something to happen. He tried to come closer to her, but this time he seemed more wasted than ever. What in his life was so bad he had to drink it away? It was his own fault he hated his family.

Clove needed to get out, she knew she could not stand another night in this hell, but there was something keeping her; Isaac. She was not going to leave her brother here to rot like she did with _him. _There was nothing on this earth that would make her. He was the only person she loved, the only person she knew, 100% that would be true to her.

Cato was no longer in that picture.

"I need to speak to your little brother alone this time. Don't need you getting in the way." Clove stared at him for a moment. What did Isaac do now, or was this still about last night? All Isaac had done was spill his cup of milk on the table during dinner, a simple mistake for hands too small to hold the cup in the first place.

"No. I won't let you."

"And who the hell are you to tell me no? I am your father and your brother needs punishment." The rage she had earlier was no match for what she felt now. He really though he could get away with hitting a little kid, someone who couldn't even defend himself if he wanted to.

"Don't touch him!" Clove hissed, she stared him down, but he laughed a hard cruel laugh that shook the house more than his scream.

"He is my son, I will do as I damn well please, and you are no one to give me orders. Would you like to be punished for that mouth?" Clove stepped forward. Her father and never seen her skill with knives, without blinking, Clove could plant a knife in the place where her father's heart should be.

The bell door rang; bring both of them to look up from the cold stares they were giving each other. "I will get that," Her father said harshly as he made his way to the door with great difficultly.

"Hello Cato!" Clove's head snapped up from her fingers which she had been picking at as her father said he visitors name. What the hell was he doing at her house?

On red-alert, Clove walked up behind her father to see if this was true. There was Cato, offering her father a stale smile. "What can I do for you my' boy?" Clove's father tensed as he felt Clove behind her, he was not pleased she had moved, but he could do nothing when someone was before them.

Cato met Clove's eyes for a moment, and she could tell he was going to do something stupid.

"I'd like to talk with Clove," Her father's face hardened.

"Why?" Her father stepped closer, eyeing Cato with caution.

"It's about something that happened in training today." It amazed Clove how Cato did not seemed threatened. Then again, he was just an angry drunk man.

"Fine," He stepped out of the way and Clove step forward, her father grabbed her hand tightly, a warning that she better stay quiet before letting her fully walk out the door.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed once they were out of range of her father.

"He is doing it again, isn't he?" Clove sighed, what was the point, he was never going to let it go.

"He never stopped." The dismay and utter shock on Cato's face was an expression Clove had never seen Cato wear. Most of the time he hide emotion well, she wondered why he cared so much. "

"Don't worry Clove, I am going to get you out of there, that's a promise." Clove looked up at him to ask how but was stopped by the feeling of lips pressed against hers. The came to a surprise to her, it was so sudden, so random, for a moment she just stood there. Cato pulled away, a genuine smile upon his face. "I promise" He whispered again before turning away.

This was no unlike Cato, sure they had a strong friendship, but even then Clove mostly though all he cared about was himself, now he was going to do something this – selfless? "My brother too," She called after him.

"Of course."


End file.
